$85K for tech, $38K scholarships

Christ Academy will start the 2014-15 school year with $85,000 in new technology and another $38,000 in scholarships for eligible students, according to Kim McClellan, director of advancement at the private school.

The school received a grant from the Priddy Foundation and a private donor that purchased 30 iPad minis for the elementary set, 30 convertible laptops for high school students, 20 administrative computers, and 30 convertible laptops for faculty.

Convertible laptops feature a removable keyboard, which allows faculty members, teachers and administrators to unhook a usable tablet and tote it with them wherever they go.

“It creates a whole lot of efficiency and effectiveness for administrators to do their job,” McClellan said.

Teachers will enjoy the new Dell laptops that they can unhook from the keyboards and take into a circle with the children for instruction.

“Being mobile is huge,” she said.

The school has also purchased seven Epson projectors that project whatever appears on the computer screen onto the wall for students to see.

All teachers at Christ Academy will have access to the projectors.

“Whatever you do on the computer, you can now show it to the whole classroom, and they can watch it up on your wall,” McClellan said.

The scholarship windfall of $38,000 may also turn into much more.

“If we raise another $2,000, an anonymous donor will give us another $20,000,” McClellan said.

The scholarship money will help more than 20 eligible students financially.

“One of the reasons families say they do not want to do private school is because of cost,” she said. “The school believes if a student is meant to be here and would benefit from this type of environment but can’t because of financial reasons, we want to do what we can to make it possible.”

When prospective students say they can’t attend because of money, the school is in a position to say, “If you qualify, yes you can,” she said. “I hate that a dollar sign would stop anybody from coming here if this is where they were meant to be.”

Christ Academy has hired four more elementary teachers for its growing enrollment.

The school served 230 at this time last year; 252 students are enrolled for the fall. Of those, 55 are new students.

The school is also preparing to partner with the local 4-H program to offer a theater class this fall.